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A five-foot-four blur of blonde hair and weapons storms into the hospital lobby, shoving past attendants and barreling toward the waiting team.
“Where is he?” Yelena demands, breathing hard as if she’s run all the way here. Her tac suit is smudged with grime, fresh off the field. “What the hell happened?”
“I think he’ll be out of the operating room soon,” John says, trying to placate her. She pushes through, perhaps a little harder than necessary, unconsciously blaming him for what’s happened to Bucky on their watch. “It was an accident, Belova, but they think he’s gonna be fine.”
He feels somewhat responsible, and now he feels guilty for the panic on her face. She should be able to entrust him with her co-leader for one mission without winding up in the emergency room, right?
“Fuck off, Walker,” Yelena seethes, striding toward the entryway. No doctor has let any team member past, even though this hospital has seen its fair share of superhero-related injuries.
John knows Bucky and Yelena are close. That’s why she’s so pissed, why she’s on a warpath in the middle of the hospital. They’re going to refuse her, but he doesn’t put it past her to knock them out if that’s what it takes.
“Belova, you can’t go in there,” John calls, and Ava reaches out a hand to stop her. “Family only, and, well, legally speaking…” None of them have legal family at all, not anymore. It’s a brutal fact that hits him like a sledgehammer. What does that make the team, then?
Yelena brushes aside Ava’s arm and ignores them both, nearly decks Alexei when he steps in her path to tell her the same thing. It’s crazy, and Walker genuinely worries she’s going to hurt the attendants.
“Belova—” he tries again, exasperated. Why won’t she give it a rest? What does she need to see Barnes about so badly, anyway? He’s probably not awake yet. They’re all worried, but assaulting the hospital staff isn’t going to help anything. They have stupid rules, and she needs to accept that.
“Ma’am,” says the nurse at the door, trying to stop her.
“Let me through.” Yelena snaps.
The nurse hesitates nervously. “I’m sorry, ma’am, it’s family only back here. Have to be a legal relation.”
Yelena grits her teeth. “Yes, I know.”
“I understand you’re here with your—um—colleagues—?” The woman fumbles for the right words, no doubt uncomfortable under the Widow’s wrath. “But it can only be legal family memb—”
“I’m his wife,” Yelena interrupts, hard and impatient. “So where the fuck is my husband?”
The entire team freezes in utter disbelief.
“Oh,” says the woman, frowning slightly in confusion. After a second, though, she accepts this, gives a sympathetic nod to the Widow as if Yelena hasn’t said the most insane thing John’s heard in his life. “Well, in that case, go right ahead, sweetheart. It’s down the hall and to the left…” She opens the doors and gives Yelena the instructions.
Yelena disappears down the hall, the doors closing promptly behind her, and the team explodes.
“What the actual fuck—” Walker starts.
“Did she just say wife?” Bob stammers.
“Married?” Alexei booms. “No one told me about this!”
“No one knew,” Ava says dryly, for some reason the calmest of the four. “They’re former assassins. Keeping secrets is, like, their job.”
“She was lying,” John argues. “To get back there. She’s just worried about him.”
Ava shakes her head. “I don’t think she would lie about something like this.”
“Yeah, she seemed pretty serious,” Bob agrees, bewildered. “She was really upset. It’s not like her.”
John balks. “Neither is being married to Barnes!”
—
The doctor is outside the post-op room to brief Yelena, giving an outline of Bucky’s condition and prognosis—a gunshot wound made serious by a new toxin in the bullet, something designed to slow and prevent his serum-powered healing. They were able to remove it and his body promptly resumed healing itself, though at a slower rate until it’s totally out of his system. A close call due to the frighteningly novel nature of the bullet; if it had gone unnoticed or untreated, it could have easily killed him.
Yelena thanks the doctor and slips into the post-op room with a quiet nod to the on-call staff. The nurses leave politely when she appears, giving them privacy.
Bucky’s still asleep, pale and scraped up but breathing steadily, the monitors normal. It’s jarring to see him like this, vulnerable, his ribcage and lower torso wrapped up in bandages, his hair messy. He’s the strong one, almost invincible, almost never gets seriously hurt because of how well his serum works. It’s weird, almost wrong. He’s the one who takes care of her when she gets hurt and reassures her when her human rate of healing feels like a weakness. It’s enough to make her breath catch.
The call from Ava earlier, summoning her to the hospital as soon as possible, had sent her into a panic. The urgency in her teammate’s voice had erased any cares she had about her current mission, finishing it up as quickly as possible on autopilot, mentally checked out. Everything else faded away, unimportant, when compared to him.
Yelena slumps into the chair at his bedside, significantly rattled. She smooths the sheets, notes gratefully the soft blanket that someone has added so the hospital ones aren’t so scratchy. As she adjusts the bed to make sure he’s comfortable, she realizes her hands are trembling.
“Jesus,” she scolds herself. “Get it together.” She takes a heaving breath and tries to push her own panic aside, to be reassured at the sight of him. The doctor assured her he would be fine, but seeing him with her own eyes hasn’t quite assuaged her fears.
She holds Bucky’s hand tightly, and rests her head next to their joined hands, the proximity soothing, grounding. Her heartrate slows after a long while, the adrenaline draining from her.
Yelena nods off at some point. The next thing she knows, the rustle of movement wakens her—she shoots upright with a start, prepared for a threat.
All she finds is Bucky, blinking awake at her, still holding her hand.
Yelena slumps in relief, dropping back into the chair.
Bucky frowns, still shaking off the anaesthesia. “Lena?”
Yelena drinks in his blue eyes, the rise and fall of his shoulders. “Hi, love.”
He looks her over the same way she’s doing him, taking her in with concern, with relief. His attention snags on her disheveled appearance. It’s nothing compared to him, but she looks tired. “You’re supposed to be in…actually, I don’t remember where. But not here.”
“Not important. Came as soon as I heard. It was finished, anyway. Boring.” She gives him a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, betraying her anxiety.
He squeezes her hand. “I’m fine. Really.”
“You are now,” she argues. “It could have been really bad.”
“It could have,” he agrees softly. “But it wasn’t. It’s alright, love.”
Yelena smooths his hair out of his face, fidgeting over him. “Hmmph. I hate being separated for missions. Is boring without you. And things like this happen.”
“It was no one’s fault,” Bucky says, running his thumb across her knuckles.
Yelena shrugs. “Well, I still yelled at Walker.”
His eyes glint with amusement. “Makes sense.”
“You need to rest,” Yelena chides, taking in his weary appearance, the recent major operation he’s just had. “The doctor says we can go home when you’re rested up and look better.”
“I just woke up. You’re saying I look bad?” he teases, shooting her a look of mock offense.
“I’ve seen better,” Yelena says, raising a brow. “Though you are always beautiful to me, milyy.”
“Come here,” Bucky implores quietly, gesturing to the space beside him.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Yelena says, shaking her head. “You need sleep.”
“And I will sleep better with you next to me,” Bucky retorts. Check and mate. “You look exhausted too, love.”
With some maneuvering, Yelena crawls into the bed and curls up next to him, their foreheads pressed together. She’s careful not to jostle his bandaged torso or the IVs and wires in him. It’s not as comfortable as their own bed, under normal circumstances, but Yelena relaxes once he’s next to her, pressed against the steady rise and fall of his chest.
“How’d you get back here, anyway?” Bucky asks, tracing his hand up and down her arm. “The team was out in the lobby. I didn’t think they were letting anyone in.”
“Oh.” Yelena snorts. “I had to tell the truth.”
“Oh,” Bucky echoes. “So…”
She groans. “The team knows now. And the nice attendant lady that I yelled at.”
“Well,” he reasons, “it was only a matter of time.”
“We were keeping the secret so well until you went and got shot,” Yelena grumbles, poking him gently in the chest.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he answers lightly, grabbing her hand and bringing the fingers to his lips, kissing them. “I blew our cover.”
“You are a terrible agent,” she says, bringing her hand to his cheek.
“I don’t know,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to actually be able to call you my wife in front of the others.”
“I yelled ‘where the fuck is my husband’ so I think I beat you to it,” Yelena grins, and he laughs.
“So we’re like, out now,” he says. “Hmm. I like it. It’s weird, but I like it.”
“Not to the public,” Yelena says. “But I think I trust the team with it now.”
And it’s true—when they first eloped, Yelena had been adamant that no one could know, that the team would use it against them somehow. Valentina certainly would, which is why she won’t find out, but now…now, over a year later, Yelena trusts them. They’re the ones who got Bucky to medical care in the first place, saved his life despite how she yelled at them over his injury.
“Good,” Bucky says, smiling, and she kisses him softly. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I missed you,” Yelena murmurs, burying her face in his chest. “Now sleep, James. I want to take you home soon.”
“I love you,” he says sleepily and her face breaks open into a smile, tucked into his side.
—
Bucky’s released from the hospital the next day under strict post-op conditions that Yelena plans to follow religiously. It’s a little adorable how much she worries over him, ensuring he’s perfectly comfortable, but he hates that he made her panic so much.
The rest of the team is back at the tower to welcome them home, hanging out in the common area, cooking dinner. It’s a kind gesture, and he’s feeling well enough that he doesn’t need to head immediately to sleep. He lounges on the couch, Yelena tucked at his side. There’s no use hiding it now, and the others are deceptively casual about the change.
The peace lasts for about ten minutes before John has to ruin it.
“Is there something you want to tell us?” He accuses, crossing his arms like he’s caught them doing something illegal.
Yelena snorts. “You look like a disappointed dad.”
Ava snickers. “You should have seen his face at the hospital.”
John rounds on Ava. “Why are you acting so normal about this?”
Ava shrugs. “I had my suspicions.”
“How?!” Bob exclaims, incredulous.
“Men are so blind,” she mutters, and Yelena nods in sad confirmation.
“Can we focus?” John pleads dramatically. “Our team leaders are married, for God’s sake! I think I’m owed an explanation for that.”
“Hmm,” Yelena says, considering this. “You didn’t ask nicely.”
“Please, Lena!” Alexei butts in. “Why didn’t you tell me!”
“Ugh,” she groans. “Because you would make it such a big deal! Like you are now!”
“I mean, it is kind of a big deal,” Bob says hesitantly.
“Of course it is,” Yelena says. “To us.”
“And the people who live with you!” John jabs.
“We didn’t want anyone to think we couldn’t still lead and do our jobs normally,” Bucky supplies. “Or Valentina to find out.”
Bob grimaces. “That’s fair. She sucks.”
“She’d use it against you,” Ava says, disgusted. “Or use it for PR and marketing shit, which is somehow worse.”
“So you don’t trust us?” John persists.
“We do now,” Yelena says. “We just…never got around to updating you. Weren’t ready yet.” Her and Bucky are such intensely private people that for a while, the thought of anyone else knowing was a nightmare. Sam was informed, as Bucky’s closest friend, and so was Kate, as Yelena’s. But telling anyone else had felt daunting.
“But you both have your own room here,” Bob says, frowning. “And I’ve never seen you coming out of each other’s rooms—”
“Ew, gross,” John mutters. “Please don’t give us any details.”
Yelena rolls her eyes. “We’re all adults here, Walker.”
“Debatable,” comments Ava.
“We have our own apartment in Brooklyn,” Bucky explains, threading his fingers through Yelena’s. It’s normal for both of them to spend nights away from the tower, but the team assumed it was separate places….for quite a few reasons. It’s never occurred to any of them that they were leaving to spend time together.
“Ach, malishka,” says Alexei dramatically. “My little girl and the ziminy soldat, what a powerful couple!”
Yelena winces. “Don’t call him that. And please be normal about this.”
“Impossible,” Bucky mutters as Alexei tries to embrace them both.
“No, no, stop, you’re embarrassing me!” Yelena moans.
“My question is when,” Ava says, surveying the two curiously.
“No, how,” says John irritably.
Yelena considers this. When was the moment she knew? She had an instant connection with Bucky, shared past trauma and Steve and Natasha, lost family…the list went on. Once she overcame her unconscious fear of the Winter Soldier and separated Bucky from the soldat, from her memories of him in the Red Room, it was easier to be around him. To talk with him, knowing he understood. But she’d been skeptical at first, sure he’d judge her for all she did after being freed, all the killing she did.
She’d been shocked when he didn’t. Bucky never held her past against her, not even the bloodiest pieces of it that had taken ages for her to share with him. He never acted like she was deserving of anything but redemption, of peace. And with him…she’s found something close to peace and rest. Happiness.
Never in a million years had she thought a social convention so humane and normal as marriage was for her. She was a killer, a weapon, someone undeserving of and undestined for happiness, for domestic bliss. Bucky made her reconsider this. Being around him made her want peace, made her consider that she could become a person worthy of peace—a person worthy of him.
Yelena shares the basics with the team, outlines the story so it makes sense. They’re understanding, for the most part. Good listeners.
But she doesn’t tell them how Bucky kisses her softly in the morning, looking at her like she hung the moon and stars. She doesn’t tell them how he wipes away her tears when she’s had a nightmare, or holds her when she’s had a bad day. How he wraps his arms around her from behind and tucks his chin onto her shoulder, holding her close while she makes their morning coffee. How he’s become her other half, a person she can’t imagine life without. She doesn’t tell them how fucking terrified she was last night when she got the call, but then again, it was probably obvious enough to everyone.
These things, she keeps for herself. Some things are just meant for the two of them.
Alexei sniffs. “That is so beautiful, malishka.”
“Okay, fine, very cute,” John acquiesces dryly. “Can we all agree to keep each other updated on major life events such as marriage? It’s really weird to not know about this until now.”
Yelena nods reasonably. “Sure, dime-store Captain America.”
Ava laughs. “For the record, I always thought you two were probably sleeping together.”
“Oookay, that’s enough of this,” Yelena announces. “We still have our briefing tomorrow morning for next week’s op, which I’ll be taking the lead on. Barnes won’t be joining, obviously. So I expect to see everyone bright and early.” She stands, helping Bucky up from the couch.
“Everyone better listen to my wife,” Bucky says threatingly.
“Yeah, this is gonna get annoying,” John groans.
Yelena laughs and follows Bucky out of the room, hands linked, whispering to each other. Shoulders loose and at ease, for once, both of the former assassins completely at ease with the other. Even John has to admit they fit well together. An unlikely pairing, but with so much in common—it does make sense. He’s ever the cynic, but even an idiot like him can tell they’re in love.
Really, it’s ridiculous no one noticed it sooner.